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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28297140">so alone in love like the world had disappeared</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellingatbabylon/pseuds/yellingatbabylon'>yellingatbabylon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All Time Low (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coffee, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Snow, Winter, i find it rude there is no tag for kitchen fluff, i love winter fluff and i had to do it, it's a god tier kind of fluff y'all, it's based on an ed sheeran song if that helps set the vibe, like vaguely but i am tagging it as such</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:54:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,667</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28297140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellingatbabylon/pseuds/yellingatbabylon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The scenery and quiet seemed to be doing Alex well, his shoulders sitting back further like a weight had physically been lifted off of them and an easy smile rested around his eyes from the very first night. The plan had given Jack a similar sense of serenity though his was from a view different than the one Alex spent most of his days gazing out at through the big window in the living room.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Barakat/Alex Gaskarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>so alone in love like the world had disappeared</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this was the result of listening to the new ed sheeran tune probably like over 100 times since it dropped on monday night. afterglow is just pure love and warmth and all that is good in the world. seems like a really nice note to end this ridiculous year on and i wanted to write something to accompany that.</p>
<p>this is probably gonna be it from me in 2020. i've got work and a pal coming into town the next week so my fluffy nonsense thoughts and ideas will have to wait until january. to anybody that has taken the time to read any of my soft lil stories this year, thank you so so much. never did i think i would get the guts to come online and share any of my ideas but this year has been full of moments none of us really expected. writing has brought me so much comfort and joy and i'm thankful to have had a place to share it.</p>
<p>if any of my sweet friends from the club are reading this, i send you all of the love and gratitude my tiny self is capable of throwing your way. of all the things that happened this year, finding a community as supporting and loving as you all was not even on my radar. i didn't think it a possibility to find community like this after leaving school, especially given the year we're living in. it's been a bitch of a year but i know that when i look back on it, it'll be the happy times i spent with you all that i'll remember and i cannot explain to you how thankful i am for that. looking forward to continuing to yell and sing and love with you all in 2021 &lt;3</p>
<p>title is from afterglow by ed sheeran</p>
<p>and as always, pls come say hi on <a href="https://tirednotflirting.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a> if you wanna. i kinda suck at keeping up w tumblr these days but still always down for chats x</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s moments like this that make Jack want to be a better songwriter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re not allowed moments of peace like this too often. Always people to see, things to do, songs to sing. Every quiet morning was bound to be interrupted by something or someone. It’s something Jack had noticed his boy getting just the slightest bit frustrated by as it kept happening. Alex’s brain never stopped once it started for the day so it made sense how it all got a little draining eventually without some quiet every so often. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hiding away for a bit during a break from tour had been Jack’s idea. He had presented the possibility on the bus one night after finding Alex awake far too late again. Jack found him with another mug of tea pressed between his palms in the back lounge and pulled him into his lap to show him pictures of the Airbnb he had found somewhere in upstate New York. Alex had only sighed and tucked himself further into Jack’s hold, mumbling something between </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>god, I love you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been a good little vacation away from the rest of the world. The snow covering the ground surrounding the little house provided an almost deafening silence but from the first day Alex had breathed it all in like he was discovering cold air for the first time in his life. The scenery and quiet seemed to be doing Alex well, his shoulders sitting back further like a weight had physically been lifted off of them and an easy smile rested around his eyes from the very first night. The plan had given Jack a similar sense of serenity though his was from a view different than the one Alex spent most of his days gazing out at through the big window in the living room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The picture of Alex enjoying his view is the one that Jack is taking dozens of mental snapshots of right now. He’s only just woken up, and while normally he would get pouty and dramatic enough to make Alex laugh at his antics over waking up alone, he knows exactly how and where he’ll find him. He knows these mornings have been particularly healing to Alex’s stressed mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack leans against the doorframe that leads into the living room in the sweats he slept in and one of his hoodies that Alex had stolen enough times on this trip that his cologne lingers on the collar. He catches his bottom lip between his teeth as his smile gently grows across his face and his eyes strain against the light coming in from the window as well as the glow of Alex in the morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s facing out toward what’s beyond the window, the trees and snow and probably the rabbit family they noticed the first morning. He sits with his legs crossed, a mug of coffee or tea between his palms and close to his face. Alex’s hair is still all mussed up from the night before, from the way Jack always falls asleep with his fingers carding through the ends of it. It works out well that Alex is so fond of the action and that it knocks Jack out better than any mumbled lullaby Alex will try on the nights Jack can’t seem to make his mind settle. He can’t see it now but Jack figures the front of Alex’s hair is falling over his eyes. It’s gotten a bit long during tour as it tends to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Time feels slower in the moments like this. Maybe it’s the quiet bubble they’re existing inside of on this little trip or maybe it’s how Jack wants every moment he sees Alex at peace to last a lifetime. Jack had always thought there were never enough hours in the day to see and do everything he wanted but then a minute lasts an eternity with Alex and suddenly he doesn’t even want to check his watch. Love is funny like that, he supposes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alex turns then, likely sensing his presence in the way they tend to do (</span>
  <em>
    <span>soulmate shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Zack would say). The glow surrounding him grows as a soft smile pulls at his lips and the crinkles around his eyes appear. Alex in the morning has always been a sight for sore eyes, Jack thinks. But then again, he’s obviously a little biased. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He feels himself melting as their eyes stay locked until Alex winks at him from across the room. “Come join, my love.” he says to Jack, his voice still rough from sleep. Jack has spent nearly half his life listening to Alex sing beautiful notes and words to thousands of people and yet, nothing even comes close to the sound of his voice calling him across the room or into the kitchen for a coffee every morning. He feels spoiled by how often it’s reserved solely for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s in the mug?” Jack asks as he ruffles up Alex’s hair further before climbing over the back of the couch. He leaves his hand resting against the leather and smiles when Alex turns to let his legs unfold and drape over Jack’s lap, his head leaning to rest against Jack’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, it’s the coffee we picked up on the drive from the airport,” Alex takes another sip before holding it out between their faces. “Here, try it, it’s good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack notes the light color of the brew from the cream Alex always insists on only for morning coffee (</span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t want to be assaulted by my first cup of the day, Jack</span>
  </em>
  <span>). He takes a long sip and he’s right, it’s a damn good cup of coffee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I think I need some of that,” Jack says, his hands gently patting against Alex’s legs where they rest in his lap. “Join me in the kitchen?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You always let me get cozy and then make me move,” Alex grumbles dramatically. But then he turns his head to press a kiss against Jack’s shoulder before moving his legs. “But yes, I will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They shuffle into the kitchen and Alex immediately pushes himself up onto the counter. He opens a cabinet and studies the mugs inside for a moment before pulling out a blue one with a painted picture of a horse across the side. He hands the mug over to Jack after he returns from the fridge with the carton of half-and-half. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks a little bit like Theo.” Jack observes as he lifts the pot from the coffee maker.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Alex sighs, his legs swinging a bit and tapping out a steady beat that matches whatever song is softly playing from the radio in the corner against the cabinets with his heels. “It’s why I like that one. I miss my boy.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack smiles as he drops a hand on Alex’s thigh closest to him while he stirs a spoonful of sugar into his coffee. Alex’s hand moves to rest over Jack’s and he can’t help but wonder how even when there’s still snow falling just beyond the window over the sink Alex is still so warm. It’s like the sun is somehow always shining down onto him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be back at the farm in a couple days and you can love him up for a little bit before we gotta get back out there,” Jack says before taking a sip from his mug. He hums at the taste and the perfect temperature of the brew. Perfect cup of coffee for a perfect morning, he figures.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He moves then to stand between Alex’s legs, the hand not holding the handle of the mug reaching up to wrap around his waist. Alex responds by letting his arms hang over Jack’s shoulders, one of his hands tapping out a rhythm against the back of his neck. They’re quiet for a bit, just smiling like fools at each other and Jack isn’t sure if it’s been ten seconds or ten hours when Alex sighs again before speaking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“God, I love you,” he shakes his head just slightly as though in disbelief of something. “Thank you for bringing me here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jack pulls his hand up to cup Alex’s cheek, his smile pulling further across his face when he watches a light blush paint across his boy’s nose. “And I love you,” he says while tracing his thumb over Alex’s cheek. “Thank you for joining me out here. It’s a nice spot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll have to come back here again. I think this could be a special place for us.” Alex says in his most casual voice, the weight of his words on Jack’s love-drunk mind likely not obvious from the look he returns the words with.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But in his mind images swirl all around like the way the dusty snow dances in the wind just beyond the walls of the little house. He sees them in pajamas, him on one knee, tears in both their eyes when he finally gives up on waiting for another picture-perfect moment and just </span>
  <em>
    <span>asks</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He sees rows of chairs in a fresh snow in the spot behind the house begging to be used for such an event and their friends and family crying along with them this time. He sees the two of them, years from now, sitting on the old leather couch in the living room, watching the first snow of the season with coffee from the shop they’ll keep stopping at on their way out, talking about what it felt like to first fall in love.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then Jack blinks and all he can see is the warm tone of Alex’s eyes accompanying a curious smile as his fingers tangle around the hair at the back of Jack’s neck. Jack turns from his gaze and lets his lips press against the warm skin on the inside of Alex’s wrist before returning to the eyes he can’t wait to spend the rest of his life continuing to get lost in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think so, too.”</span>
</p>
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